1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a bicycle saddle with a light-weight yet hardy construction, and means for easily mounting the bicycle saddle on a bicycle seat post.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, all prior art bicycle saddles utilize a pair of parallel support rails running longitudinally of the saddle and spaced from its underside to attach to the bicycle seat post. The rails are typically made of metal such as aluminum, steel, titanium, or the like and engaged and held in place by appropriate mounting hardware associated with the bicycle seat post.
A disadvantage of the prior art saddles is that the rails tend to bend in use, so that the seat eventually goes out of alignment. Also, the attachment brackets for the rails interfere with the aerodynamic flow of air under the saddle. In addition, for utilizing the rails and the attachment brackets, the weight of the prior art bicycle saddles can not be effectively reduced.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,561,578 disclosed a new mounting system for bicycle saddles to avoid the drawbacks described above. The mounting system has a T-beam rail that protrudes perpendicularly from the underside of a saddle and a guide formed by a pair of channel plates that are secured on a bicycle seat post and clamp the rail therebetween so that the saddle can be mounted on the seat post. Such a mounting system can eliminate the disadvantages of the prior art saddles for no support rails of prior art saddles. However, it still produces some disadvantages. One of the disadvantages is that the connecting area between the saddle and the T-beam rail cracked easily due to stresses formed therein. Another disadvantage is that the mounting system can not cooperate with prior art seat posts.